1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an electronic apparatus having a function to display images.
2. Description of the Related Art
In some of conventional electronic apparatus having a function to display images, a display unit for displaying images is mounted on a main body unit via a hinge unit, in which the display unit can pivot relative to the main body unit (for example, refer to Japanese Laid-open Patent Publications 2005-165478 and 2004-326086). Generally, in such electronic apparatus, the main body unit has a main body case housing a control board, in which the main body case is composed of an upper case and a lower case that are connected to each other. For connecting the hinge unit to the main body unit, the hinge unit is connected e.g. by screwing to a hinge connecting portion formed of a portion of the main body case (a portion of the upper case or a portion of the lower case). For example, in Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication 2005-165478 referred to above, the hinge unit is connected e.g. by screwing to a hinge connecting portion formed of a portion of a lower case of a main body case of the main body unit.
In the conventional electronic apparatus, the hinge unit is connected to the hinge connecting portion while the display unit is connected to the electronic apparatus via the hinge unit, so that a high load is applied to the hinge connecting portion. Thus, the hinge connecting portion is required to have a strong structure to withstand a high load. Generally, the hinge unit has a main body-side joint member to be connected to the main body unit (more specifically to the hinge connecting portion of the main body case of the main body unit), in which the main body-side joint member is made small so as to allow the hinge unit to be connected to various kinds of apparatus (or to be used for general purpose applications).
Furthermore, the main body case is generally formed by resin molding, making it difficult to make the main body case thicker than a certain thickness, so that inevitably the hinge connecting portion, which is formed of a portion of the main body case (a portion of the upper case or a portion of the lower case), is formed to have a small thickness. Thus, if the main body-side joint member of the hinge unit is simply connected to the hinge connecting portion of the main body case, there is a risk that a load applied to the hinge connecting porting may be concentrated in a narrow area of the hinge connecting portion, and that the small thickness of the hinge connecting portion may prevent the hinge connecting portion from being able to withstand a high load, causing it to be broken. This problem of the conventional electronic apparatus might be solved if a metal plate having a larger area than the main body-side joint member of the hinge unit is used as a reinforcing member, and this metal plate is placed between the main body-side joint member of the hinge unit and the hinge connecting portion of the main body case. This arrangement makes it possible to disperse the load applied to the hinge connecting portion over its wide area to allow the hinge connecting portion to withstand a high load. However, this arrangement separately requires a metal plate, thereby increasing the cost.
There are various improvements relating to the connection of a hinge or hinge unit to another member in electronic apparatus. For example, in the electronic apparatus of Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication 2004-326086 referred to above, the hinge unit is connected to a case of the display unit for connecting the hinge unit to the display unit. Further, in a portable CD (Compact Disc) reproduction apparatus disclosed in Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication 2002-117664, a portion of a cover on or near which a hinge is connected is formed in two layers: a first layer made of a relatively light material; and a second layer, as a hinge reinforcing member, made of a material superior in strength and processability to the material of the first layer. However, these improvements disclosed in the prior art do not solve the problems described above.